CHP presents "Wine and Roses"

This Saturday, May 26th, the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants hosts their “Wine and Roses” Open House. The event allows you to venture into gardens not usually open to the public while enjoying wines from local vineyards.

Two garden tours led by Monticello’s Curator of Plants, Peggy Cornett, will feature heirloom roses in full bloom. You can expect these roses to be much more fragrant than modern day varieties. The various classes of roses found in the garden include Gallica, China, Musk, and Damask, as well as a large collection of Noisette roses, which are notable for their strong fragrance and long bloom period.

From 1pm-3pm, Virginia winemaker and Monticello’s Director of Gardens and Grounds Gabriele Rausse will host a free wine tasting. Beehives were recently installed at the Center, and will be introduced by beekeeper Paul Legrand, who will give a short tour of the hives as well as talk about the first year in the life of a beehive.

Brian Hartsock, the Center’s Nursery Manager, is holding a rose-themed workshop to discuss and even demonstrate rose propagation and culture. Piedmont Master Gardeners will be at the Open House to answer any gardening questions and share information about their organization. Throughout the event there will be a wide variety of heirloom roses for sale, as well as native plants, perennials, vegetables, and herbs. In addition, the Center will have various seeds and a selection of rose books for sale.

This free event is from 10am-4pm at Tufton Farm and requires no registration.